Alone Together
by ElementofHeart
Summary: [AU] And that's how it was supposed to be, in Gray's mind. Him and his childhood best friend just hanging with each other like they had so many times, laughing and teasing, always trying to find time to just be near each other when they could. [GrayLi]


**Hey guys~!**

 **I have another one-shot here; although this one will be quite unusual than all my other pairings. Because this one is almost pure crack! xD For some reason, I find the concept of the pairing of Gray and Lisanna quite interesting. It's like they could honestly easily become the best of friends in some sort of way, and I find the idea of that fascinating.**

 **Anyways, here's to all the GrayLi fans out there! I know you all don't get a lot of love for your pairing, so here's a fic to add onto your list! ^^**

 **This was beta'd by _The Goddess Of Flash_ who did an amazing job at beta-ing this! :) Thank you so much for all the help! Without you, there would've been a lot more mistakes!**

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Sitting atop a hill with an enchanting view of the ocean, next to her best friend and notorious player Gray Fullbuster, Lisanna was perfectly placed to be the picture of about every-romantic-novel-ever. If, of course, you ignored the fact her face was contorted into a vaguely horrific shape as she struggled to breath.

"Oh my god, stop- Gray, I swear, I'm going to choke on my food!" She implored through her muffled laughs, desperately trying to swallow her food.

Gray only laughed harder, pointing at her and saying between laughs, "Don't care, that'd make it funnier!"

After they'd both taken copious lungfuls of air in a vain attempt to calm down, Gray gently set down his bento, mind wandering.

How their friendship survived after all those stages of life giving you lemons (or some crap like that, Gray supposed), he had no idea. But he was honestly glad that their bond was stronger than ever. Because in a way, he needed her. She was the girl he was closest to; the one who was like a sister figure to him in the way she always backed him up and helped him when he was in need. The one who was like a mother figure that took care of him and scolded him like a child and always pointed him in the right direction.

And another aspect of her was the one who was like a lover figure...

In all honesty, the idea was really weird to him- she was Lisanna for crying out loud, there was no way he could ever see her like _that._

But whenever she'd mend him after a fight – bringing out the first aid kit and patching his wounds with her petite hands – he always felt a small shiver trickle down his spine. And even when he half-heartedly argued about the ritual, something she had always done even as kids, he could never pull away as her lips pecked each graze or bump. It was a bit embarrassing, to say the least. They were older now, and if anybody had walked into the room – especially Mira – they would have thought of something _completely_ different.

But Lisanna would only laugh at him, and continue her ministrations.

But the lover figure idea seemed to take an even deeper root in his mind whenever she was cold. Never bothered anything short of the Ice Age, he'd give her his jacket, and she'd give him a warm thank you kiss on his cheek. Her kisses were always warm.

And he always felt himself feeling protective over her; any guy that dared to even look at her in a disrespectful manner would find themselves unconsciousness behind the gym. She always found out, of course, and she always scolded him for it. But he could tell by the way she treated him to ice cream on their walk home that she was thankful. And he found himself liking that feeling a lot more as they got older.

All these moments piled onto each other until he realized he was falling for his best friend. But then reality (his old foe) hit him. _Hard._

"He's coming back."

He didn't need to think twice to think about who she was talking about. If they ever talked about him, Gray would already know exactly who 'he' was. He had never really left her mind despite it having been a very long time since she'd last seen him in person, always staying there as a distant memory, forever etched into her past. She still talked to him, of course, through texts and calls. But he hadn't really visited Magnolia in such a long time, hell, it'd already been over seven years since Gray had last seen him. But every time Lisanna talked to him he'd still promise that he'd come home soon (this time permanently), and then things would go back to the way they used to be.

The thought of that made Gray's insides boil.

It had been seven damn years since he'd last seen that idiot. And now, the ass wanted to show up-out of nowhere and act like things would be the same again?

What did he mean by "go back to the way it was"? As far as Gray knew, there was no "back to the way it was". Hell, he didn't ever remember a day where Natsu fucking Dragneel was actually with them! It was like he'd never been there at all.

And Gray was completely fine with that.

Because in all honesty, Gray had completely stopped caring about that pyromaniac idiot the moment he wasn't there for Lisanna when she needed him most. She had been in the hospital for months around two years ago, recovering from a horrific accident that almost left her completely comatose. And where was that asshole when Gray had texted and called him over a thousand times, begging him to come to her side, as at the time they'd all thought it would have been their last chance?

He was a gapingly obvious hole in the visitor's room.

Instead, he sent her thousands of jewels to pay for her surgeries, bought her bouquets of flowers, stuffed animals, get well presents: everything she 'wanted' and 'needed'.

But he knew that all Lisanna truly wanted was for him to be there. And Gray could never forgive him for disappointing her so completely.

What he gave her instead, which Gray admitted lessened the blow of him realizing that his 'friend' was a complete douche, was a lacrima message from said 'jackass' to Lisanna. Gray never really got to hear what was in the message, but he was happy that Lisanna was on cloud nine after hearing the message, playing it over and over to herself. Over half an hour long, Lisanna told him the message was. It was still in her room beside the other things Natsu had sent her, and alongside other stuff Gray had given her for her birthdays over the years.

But since then, he hadn't been able to think of the salmon-haired teen the same way as before.

Gray cleared his throat, pretending to be interested as he inquired, "Really? When?"

Lisanna seemed oblivious to how fake he sounded, and for that he was grateful, as she continued quite merrily in her mellifluous voice, "He told me he's coming in a few weeks, by the time spring rolls around. Isn't that awesome? I'll finally get to see him again..." Gray looked at her from the corner of his eye, watching her eyes shine and her expression contort to one of pure excitement.

He ignored the sinking feeling in his chest, opting to look away from her. It was best he didn't say anything bad about Natsu-he didn't want to taint whatever happy memories she still had of him, if she even had any, and her happiness meant so much to him...he'd never want to be the cause of her despair. Because he knew that she believed that he and Natsu were still on good terms, despite having no contact in seven years (although Lisanna always talked about him to Natsu, and vice versa).

He'd make sure that Lisanna would stay happy, that she would never have to cry for some stupid boy, that she'd never have to go through any traumatic experiences, that she would never be alone. She didn't need that flaming jackass that lived over a thousand miles away. No, because she would always have him with her. Gray would stick by her side until the day she told him to leave for good.

... But it wasn't like she would ever say that.

"That's great Lisanna." God, was he such a liar.

"Haha, yeah." Lisanna squirmed a little beside him, a small blush staining her cheeks at the thought of the salmon-haired boy. Gray couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, teasing the blue-eyed girl as she cried out indignantly of his abuse. This continued on like usually, until Lisanna decided to bring up a very interesting subject.

"And what about you and Juvia, huh?!" Lisanna exclaimed, trying her hardest to hide the dark blush on her cheeks, but to no avail. "She seems to have the hots for you! And you have the stuff to win her over!"

"Juvia?" Gray raised a brow at the name, momentarily forgetting who she was. His eyes grew wide as he remembered the name, and he fought his hardest not to shudder on the spot. The blue-haired female scared the crap out of him; always staring at him in class and adding a "-sama" to the end of his name. Hell, she even stalked him sometimes when she thought he wasn't looking: wherever he looked, she was just always...there.

She wasn't a bad person, that was for sure. But she sure was weird as hell in his opinion. "Juvia Lockser? No thanks. I'll pass on that."

"Eh? Why not?"

Lisanna's eyes widened in realization, jumping to her own conclusions as she pointed an accusing finger at him, "You like someone, don't you?!"

"W-what?!" Gray's eyes grew wide this time, as he stiffened. How did she figure that out? Was he that easy to read? Did she finally realize his growing feelings? "No, of course not!" He shook his head furiously, fighting the blush that threatened to color his cheeks (goddamnit, he was supposed to be more manly than this!). "It's just Juvia's not my type is all."

Lisanna gave him a deadpan look. "As if that hasn't stopped you from dating all the hundreds of other girls that 'weren't your type'."

"Hey, there was nothing wrong with them," Gray defended, shooting her a look. "And there's nothing wrong with Juvia either. I just don't like her that way."

"...are you actually Gray?"

"What is that supposed to mean? Of course it's me, Lis!"

"Well the Gray I know has _never_ turned down a girl that liked him. If anything, he just dates them for a while and then suddenly dumps them and leaves them all heartbroken. Which I disapprove of, you know."

"Even more reason not to date her!"

"Well yeah, but come on! Why start now?"

"Why not start now? I broke up with Miki Chikintaigā a while ago, so there's nothing holding me back."

"I know you Gray Fullbuster, and I know that something's up." Lisanna crossed her arms, letting out a small smirk as Gray realized that he was caught red-handed. "Now tell me! Or I swear, I'll have Ultear all over your case about it!"

Gray's eyes widened considerably, all the color draining from his face at the thought of his older sister getting involved into his personal love life. No, he couldn't even imagine the hell he'd go through...

"How could you threaten me, Lis?" Gray asked, appalled at his 'best' friend. "I thought you said you wouldn't use Ultear as a threat anymore!"

"I'm sorry," Lisanna shrugged. "Desperate times calls for desperate measures~!"

"A little too desperate," he groaned, biting the inside of his cheek.

Lisanna laughed at him, watching his cheeks grow rosier at her teasing. Her sapphire orbs scanned his expression, her eyes growing soft as she said in a quiet voice, "You know...you look cute when you blush."

"Huh?!" He probably got whiplash with how fast he looked at her, but at that moment, he didn't care.

Did Lisanna just call him cute?

His mind reeled over her words, and it didn't take long before he cursed his growing blush, looking down as he cursed inwardly. Great, just what he needed. "D-don't say things like that!" He looked away, putting a hand on his mouth in an attempt to muffle his curses.

"Eh? Why not?" Lisanna scooted closer to him, completely oblivious to the real reason why his face was a blushing mess. She only assumed it was because she must've offended his masculinity a little bit- and well, she couldn't help but want to offend it even more. Hey, her reward was a blushing Gray, a rare sight to behold from the infamous player, what more could she want? "It's true! The way your cheeks turn red, and you look away from me you're like doing now...I'm starting to think that maybe you're some sort of tsundere~!" She teased.

As expected, Gray's face was beginning to turn into a bright red. He was barely able to form words, as his eyes grew wide as he struggled to come up with a response.

Dammit, if it was anybody else he would've murdered anyone that dared to call him that. Because Gray Fullbuster was definitely _not_ a tsundere!

"Tsu-tsundere?!" He cried out, outraged at such a statement. If it was even possible, he became even more flustered. And fuck, did he feel like an idiot.

"Aw, is Gray-chan feeling embarrassed~?" Lisanna poked his red cheeks, her eyes glinting with playfulness. And for a moment, the sapphire-eyed teenage girl couldn't see Gray's expression from the bangs that were covering his eyes. She chose to ignore it, knowing that nothing was wrong (if there was, she'd be able to sense it), and continued by leaning her face closer to his, whispering in the shell of his ear, "Sorry, ne? _Gray-sama~!_ "

And before she knew it, she was laying on the grass, eyes wide as her best friend loomed over her, both of his hands by either side of her head. Her heart stopped for a moment, not knowing what to do. Gray was never like this at all...was there really something wrong? Had she pushed things a little too far this time? But he had never acted like this during one of her teasing sessions; so what was happening?

But before she could say anything, she was cut short by the smirk arising on his face, despite the fact that she couldn't see the mischievous glint his dark eyes behind his bangs.

And that's when it hit her.

"Oh...oh god, Gray, I swear, you better not-AH!" And then his hands attacked her everywhere, pressing his digits against her most ticklish spots on her body. She couldn't stop herself from laughing, her mouth widening with a smile as she closed her eyes while trying to push her best friend off of her. Even though she was glad he wasn't actually mad, she did not appreciate lying on the ground being tickled mercilessly, dying from a lack of oxygen. "Gray...stop...I can't...breathe..!" She gasped out in between giggles.

"That's what you get, Lis!" Gray easily countered, a smile on his face as he watched her face turning a shade of pink. In a way of paying her back from her last comment, he managed to reach down to her ear, his hair tickling her forehead as he whispered in her ear, "You shouldn't have messed with _Gray-sama_ , Lisanna Strauss. Or I might have to punish you even more."

"N-No...don't!" She gasped out, shaking her head as she cried out for mercy. "I'm sorry...I-I take...it back! Ah, Gray!" She continued to laugh, feeling tears beginning to form from the corners of her eyes.

"Are you sure?" He teased. "I can't hear you!"

"I said...I'm sorry!" She managed to choke out, practically begging Gray to stop. He complied, and eventually let her go, giving her time to catch her breath. Everything was beginning to hurt so much; it'd been a long while since Gray had tickled her like that. The last time he did that was in the beginning of their first year, almost two years ago, before her accident.

And in all honesty, she felt happy. It'd been awhile since they hung out, and she had been waiting for a chance to just have some alone time with him. With him stringing along different girlfriends, keeping up his grades, and playing on the school's team for the annual Grand Magic Games, he had been too busy for them to actually hang out. Instead they'd only had short walks to each other's houses.

And she had been busy too, helping for the Fantasia Parade event that was coming up in a few weeks; all of her efforts were mostly focused on that, so it was natural that they no longer saw each other except during some of their shared classes every day. Even then, they were often halfway across the room and had their own things to do.

So you could imagine her surprise when the dark-haired male himself approached out of the blue during a float decoration day just as the sun had set. He had been practicing for the GMG's since school had ended, almost six hours ago, and had decided to wait for her until she got out to both take her home, and to ask her if they could hang out soon at their usual place.

And so here she was, hanging out with Gray as she struggled to regain her breath.

Gray laughed at her, a large smile on his face. "So how did you like that, Lis? Makes you think twice before calling my name with that weird honorifics again, huh?"

Lisanna shook her head, covering her eyes with her arm as she soon relaxed despite the small aches were Gray had tickled her mercilessly. "I'm not doing that again, that's for sure."

Gray chuckled when he saw her pout, as she muttered, "You're so mean to me, Gray.". The two then sat near each other in silence, one laying on the grass and the other sitting up to watch to watch the sunset.

And that's how it was supposed to be, in Gray's mind. Him and his childhood best friend just hanging with each other like they had so many times, laughing and teasing, always trying to find time to just be near each other when they could. It really was moments like these that gave him that same weird butterfly-love feeling crap that he had heard about in one of Lisanna's cheesy romantic books that she hoarded.

But hey, he couldn't give a damn. It was just him and her, nothing else.

Alone together.


End file.
